Video of unwanted advance divides Egyptians

An Egyptian policewoman — part of a security force to combat sexual harassment — patrols the streets of Cairo in 2015. Catcalls, pinching and grabbing are rampant in Egypt.

An Egyptian policewoman — part of a security force to combat sexual harassment — patrols the streets of Cairo in 2015. Catcalls, pinching and grabbing are rampant in Egypt.

Photo: Roger Anis / Associated Press 2015

Photo: Roger Anis / Associated Press 2015

Image
1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

An Egyptian policewoman — part of a security force to combat sexual harassment — patrols the streets of Cairo in 2015. Catcalls, pinching and grabbing are rampant in Egypt.

An Egyptian policewoman — part of a security force to combat sexual harassment — patrols the streets of Cairo in 2015. Catcalls, pinching and grabbing are rampant in Egypt.

Photo: Roger Anis / Associated Press 2015

Video of unwanted advance divides Egyptians

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

CAIRO — It might have been another #MeToo moment: An Egyptian woman says a man stalked her at a bus stop, made inappropriate advances, and only backed off when she began filming him with her cell phone.

But when she posted the video on Facebook, it ignited an online debate in which many Egyptians, including women, took the man’s side. Some say he was politely flirting and the woman overreacted, while others have speculated about what she was wearing, suggesting she was the one at fault.

Sexual harassment, mostly ranging from catcalls to occasional pinching or grabbing, is rampant in Egypt. Polls have found that a majority of both men and women in the conservative Muslim country believe it is justified if women dress “provocatively” in public.

That may explain the response to the brief video Menna Gubran posted on Aug. 15. In it, a man later identified as Mahmoud Soliman can be seen approaching her on a suburban Cairo street and inviting her to coffee at On the Run, a nearby convenience store. She politely declines, and he apologizes and walks away.

In a subsequent video and in TV interviews, Gubran said Soliman had circled in his car three times as she waited for a bus and made comments that made her feel uncomfortable. At one point, she went into a nearby supermarket, hoping he would leave. When she returned, he came by again and got out of his car, at which point she says she began filming.

Soliman, who has also given TV interviews, denies doing anything wrong and disputed her account of circling in his car.

“I just invited her to drink coffee, and I never bothered her. When she said I was bothering her, I apologized and left,” he said.

The video provoked a torrent of angry responses, but while many praised Gubran for outing an alleged harasser, just as many accused her of overreacting or questioned her motives.

Others asked what Gubran, who does not appear in the video, was wearing, with some fishing personal photos out of her social media accounts.

The diverging responses reflect a long-running debate in Egypt over what constitutes sexual harassment and who is at fault.

“The incident was indeed harassment and a violation of the girl’s privacy,” said Maha Ahmed, a human rights lawyer at the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms. “Unfortunately, there is misunderstanding of harassment in Egypt and this caused the controversy.”